HAVE YOU LOST SALES TO YOUR COMPETITION?

HAVE YOU LOST SALES TO YOUR COMPETITION?

How many times this year have you lost a sale to the competition? I know I’ve lost several. It’s never a good feeling. Often times I think sales professionals feel they lost the sale simply because their price was higher. And, that very well may be the case but I choose to look at lost sales a little differently. I think hard about what I could have done better to prove to the prospect that I was worth the extra investment. There are many thoughts that go through my head; I could write a whole book just on this. This is a Great Idea; it’s designed to be quick and to the point. So, let me stay on that track this week.

Any time we lose a sale it’s because the competition has a better relationship with the prospect than you do. How many of you have had a client for years, a new manager comes in and they bring in a vendor they knew from their prior job. There is a friendship, a level of trust there, that is going to be hard for you to replicate. How many times do you feel you clearly presented a better case to earn the business yet the prospect stays with their regular vendor? Why? Because you didn’t have the relationship the other company did.

This week, examine how much attention you’re paying to your existing clients. Make sure you’re not taking them for granted. Call them, e-mail them or, best of allâ€”go see them! How much time are you spending making new relationships? You need to do this so you have a source for future business.

Relationship Selling is the best and only way to sell, in my book. When you Make Friends, you Make Sales!

Talk to you next week.

PS – I am strongly considering a private one-day sales/marketing meeting for a select few clients in Dayton, Ohio. If there is enough interest, we’ll do it. It is limited to approximately 30 people and it is going to cost $495 bucks. There will be a VIP option, for an additional charge, that entails a quick tour of Grunder Landscaping the day before and dinner at my house, where we will be able to spend time talking about your business and answering your questions. If you are interested in attending, it will be Tuesday, December 7th (VIP on December 6th), and it will cover sales strategies and sale management for Landscapers as well as marketing. Everyone that attends will leave with a marketing plan for their company. If you are interested in being invited to this, please contact us. First-come, first-served.